leguminous plants enrich the soil because their roots produce nitrogen-fixing nodules in the presence of rhizobium bacteria. But recently, a team of scientists managed to trigger nodule formation in legumes without the bacteria. The discovery opens up the possibility of inducing nodule formation even in non-leguminous crops (such as wheat and rice), which could revolutionise global farming and food production by dramatically reducing dependence on nitrogen fertilisers.

Nodule formation in legumes is triggered by a molecule called the Nod factor present in the rhizobium bacteria. The Nod factor activates a gene called dmi3. Interestingly, a similar gene is found in non-leguminous plants